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Post by Metella on Mar 4, 2005 20:25:07 GMT -5
Adam's Rib for humor
To Kill a Mockingbird for best all around (some other poster mentioned this movie)
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Post by Cassie on Mar 4, 2005 22:40:20 GMT -5
yes, I agree Metella, To Kill a Mockingbird is my all time favorite  Citizen Kane – is another great movie, it’s been a long time since I have seen it. What I remember most is how they showed Kane and his first wife relationship was deteriorating at the dinning room table. |
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Post by NikkiGreen on Mar 4, 2005 22:56:26 GMT -5
B&W and pithy? You do like to make things difficult, eh! Aside from your two choices (would you believe I've never seen Citizen Kane in its entirety?) Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream HouseWhy? Cary Grant. Myrna Loy. Melvyn Douglas. Coolness personified.   |
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Post by Metella on Mar 5, 2005 8:56:46 GMT -5
cassie's got one on us then, I have never seen that either & it is listed as such a classic! Maybe we should have some board homework & have this movie watched in 30 days!
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Post by Patcat on Mar 5, 2005 10:57:34 GMT -5
CITIZEN KANE is that rare thing--a classic which is also very entertaining. It really is a great film--you can see the fun Welles is having just playing with all these new toys in every scene. And, as tragic as its story is (the young Kane is an enormously attractive figure and his fall is horrible), it's also very funny at points.
It's not like any other movie, and it's just a wonderful use of everything great about film.
I love black and white movies anyway--they seem more "real", if that makes any sense. A couple of people mentioned TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, which I love as well. There's all of those beautiful Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers films, and, of course, CASABLANCA.
Patcat
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Post by domenicaflor on Mar 5, 2005 13:01:23 GMT -5
For pithy, and black and white, I would have to vote for SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Some of the pithiest and wittiest dialogue you will ever find in a film, with a very noir mise-en-scene.
CITIZEN KANE is a great choice, but I would also add the new, re-edited DVD of Welles' TOUCH OF EVIL as a great film to watch for both dialogue and cinematography.
D.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Mar 5, 2005 16:31:22 GMT -5
Well, if you're willing to do the homework, then so am I.  I saw Touch of Evil years ago. Orson Welles was brilliant; Charleston Heston was okay. I'll have to see about getting my hands on the re-edited version. |
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Post by Metella on Mar 6, 2005 20:24:33 GMT -5
You are on ..... I'll have to mug someone for their blockbuster card & then I am all set to go .... then we can have a most excellent conversate  |
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Post by LOCIfan on Mar 7, 2005 0:32:36 GMT -5
Most excellent topic!!
I know I'm in the minority here, but I find CITIZEN KANE to be a brilliant technical achievement, but rather cold/distant as a movie. No denying the genius behind the lens, but -- to me -- sort of like viewing a flawless jewel encased in protective glass. Nice to admire, but I'll never wear it, and will never associate it with intimate memories or emotions.
My faves:
THE APARTMENT: Billy Wilder, Shirley MacLaine (1960 Shirley MacLaine, before all the space alien stuff). Fantastically cynical plot with a mushy, romantic heart; that is, Billy Wilder at his best! (Story holds up well).
SUNSET BOULEVARD: Billy Wilder again. The granddaddy of all self-reflective Hollywood-on-Hollywood movies. Beautiful, funny, sardonic, sad. Come on, how grotesquely hilarious is it to watch Norma Desmond having a funeral for her pet orangutang?
THE 400 BLOWS: Truffaut's masterpiece. The cinematic equivalent of literature's "Paddy Clarke, Ha, Ha, Ha" by Roddy Doyle. Beautiful, funny, real, honest, and ultimately heartbreaking. The French New Wave at its best. Could also be a backstory template for many of the criminals our dear Bobby goes after!
THE THIN MAN: (The first one, and best, in the series). William Holden, Myrna Loy, gallons of champagne, glamour, double entendres, and -- oh yeah -- a little mystery thrown in...
MANHATTAN: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Marial Hemingway. Has my home town ever looked lovelier? And that Gershwin score? Beautiful. Allen plays a 42-yr-old neurotic (surprise, surprise) with a lesbian ex-wife (Meryl Streep), 17 yr. old girlfriend (it's not as creepy as it sounds) and a crush on his best friend's lover (Keaton). My fave line is when Allen introduces Keaton to Hemingway. Keaton asks: And what do you do? Hemingway: I go to high school.
No double take, nothing. They just go on with the conversation. All that and Black & White in 1979 -- love it.
Okay, I'll stop. I failed at the pithy thing. Sorry, Metella!
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Post by missymagoshi on Mar 7, 2005 0:52:28 GMT -5
OhmyGod The Apartment is brilliant. Another big favorite of mine is City Lights. In fact most Chaplin films are personal faves. I also love, and of course this is an incomplete list as there are just too many to list, Casblanca, On the Waterfront, All About Eve, It Happened One Night, The Lady Eve, The Philadeplhia Story, It's a Wonderful Life, to name but a few.
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MelTex
Detective
"I want a Jonny 7 all-in-one gun..."
Posts: 336
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Post by MelTex on Mar 7, 2005 12:21:22 GMT -5
I'll have to jump on the band-wagon with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD as my favorite B&W movie...
Though for pure fun, I like the Abbot and Costello Movies... for laughs.
I've read about CITIZEN KANE, but haven't seen it.. perhaps I should rent it, eh?
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Post by domenicaflor on Mar 7, 2005 13:18:19 GMT -5
Someone mentioned Chaplin. I have to catch up on my Chaplin films. One absolutely not to miss is THE GREAT DICTATOR, Chaplin's scathingly funny parody of Hitler and the Nazi Party. This was BRILLIANT.
D.
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Post by Patcat on Mar 7, 2005 13:35:43 GMT -5
I recently watched THE GOLD RUSH with my highly discriminating friends Zach (8 years old) and Anna (4 years old). They loved it, and were rolling on the floor laughing. 80 years on, and Chaplin still works.
Although my favorite of the trinity of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd is Keaton.
Patcat
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Post by NikkiGreen on Mar 7, 2005 14:55:31 GMT -5
MelTex, the more the merrier, eh! Metella, I hope my Blockbuster card still works. It's been well over 2 years since I last used it. On the subject of Charles Chaplin, how about Limelight (with Claire Bloom and Buster Keaton)! City Lights...great film |
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Post by michael on Mar 7, 2005 19:25:22 GMT -5
My top pick is "It's A Wonderful Life", followed by "The Philadelphia Story", and "My Man, Godfrey"
Just a note: A "Comedy Classics Collection" was released last week on DVD that featured six classics, including "Philadelphia Story", "Bringing Up Baby" "Libeled Lady" (With Myrna Loy, Spencer Tracy, etc.) "Dinner at Eight",etc. It lists for under fifty dollars in a few places.
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